Multisection crankshaft



Feb. 7, 1950 F. G. LAKE 2,496,397

MULTISECTION CRANKSHAFT Filed June 10, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

FRANCIS GERARD. LAKE K g; 1 ATTORNEY.

F60. 7, 195G F. s. LAKE MULTISECTION CRANKSHAFT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 10, 1947 INVENTOR.

FQANCIS GERARD LAKE ATTORNEY v Patented Feb. 7, 1950 MULTISECTION CRANKSHAFT Francis Gerard Lake, New York, N. Y., assignorto The M. W. Kellogg Company, New York, N. 15;, a corporation of Delaware Application June 10, 1947,- Serial No: 75326015 8 Claims.

The present invention relates to cloth weaving;

Onewobject i of! the. present invention is to pro- 1 vidermew ancbimprovedfm'ain'crank shaft and supports therefor; which" lend. themselves to easy and:expeditious; assembly, and which permit the use: of 1 non-isplit, preferablyanti-friction; shaft bearings of the unit type.

As: a feature of the: present invention; the

crankashaft isdividedtinto at least three S8I a' ratecsections, comprisin :.two'.endsections having respective double crank conformations, and :one,

or:' more, straight intermediate sections: coupled to saidiend'zsectionsz Theshaft-parts of =the end' sections beyond .the doublecranks: are straight, thereby permitting. non-split, anti-friction bearingrunits or non-split plain-bearing units, to be slippedonto said: shaft parts'for mounting punposes, before the intermediate "section; or sections, iscoupled "into position.

As a further feature, each of the loomsides comprises a pair. of. spaced substantially vertical frame Webs carrying shaft'sup-porting structures with respective openings to receivethe shaft parts oil-the end crankshaft sections, and to mount the bearingsfor said shaft parts. These openings extend t0- the;top of shaft supporting structure to permit said end crankshaft sections to be lowered into position intov said openings with eachdouble-crank between the webs of each corresponding loomside. The openings are of keyhole. conformation, so that after theend crank shaft seetions are:l0wered into. said openings, the non-split bearing units, anti-friction-or plain on thelshaft parts-of saidsections beyond the double cranksrare slid along. said. shaft parts, and into saidaopenings, and are locked, therein against movement transverse :toathe axis thereof, thereby correspondingly locking said lendcrankshaft-sectogether hy means. of couplingswhich provide maximum torsional rigidity while they permit a sufficient! degree of. axial: misalignment of. the: connected shaft I parts :to make. it :possible-tot se-- cure. asufficiently: rigid. and' stable operating: structure? while: facilitating; its assembly.

Variousotl'ier; objects; featuresandadvantages of the invention will .be' apparent from the f0l-1 lowing particular description, and. from an in-- spection of: the: accompanying. drawings, in which Fig; l=is a frontiview'of the portionof the-'loom' embodying, the presen-binvention, and: shows the frame and l the sectional main crank+ shaftsup-- ported. imposition in said frame;

Fig. 2 is-a front view-lofr-the left-handportion of the-loomaandlshows the leftshanduend-section of the crank .shaftin. raised-positionrwith" respect to theileftehandsloomside and about to be lowered in position with respeot.to.-sald;-loom+- side; 1

Fig. 3 -is azsida elevation'of the inner frame of: the left:loomsldeshowndmFig; 2,'and:shows the: key, opening ;in':said framecfor rreceiving a portion? of the" left-hand end section ofthe crank shaft and fits bearing housing Fig"; 4 -issa fragmentary'frontwiew of:the%-1eft-' h'and portion of the: loom, and, shows theleft handend section =of-the crankshaftrand'a none split bearing; therefor in mounted iposition 'Wilihi respect to theleft loomside.

Fig. 5 isia front View of-the right-hand."portion of :the ioomwpartly exploded, and shows-the right hand-end section of:the.-crankr1she;ft in1ra-ised: position withz respect-tothe;:rightloomside and r about to be -lowered; .inposition with respect-' to said loomside;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the inner frame of the right looms-ide shown in Fig. 5, and shows" the key opening in said frame for receiving a portion of the right handlend section of the crank shaft and its :bearingmousing; and

Fig. '7 is :a'sidereievation oflthebearing support ing structure for the outer-endmfthe-right-hand' end section of "thecraznkrshaftl In the?followingrdescription, theleft-rh-andsideof the" loom is at thez'lefthand-of an operator facingthe loom, and .the frontsof the. loom is the portion of the. loomsnearest-to the operator.

RBfEIIiIIEitO-th drawings,- the loom as-shown:

in Fig. 1 comprises a frame 10 having a-left-hand loomside. l lrand afright-hand loomside l2 interwloom side I2 also comprises two spaced parallel vertical webs I8 and I9 connected and braced by plates 26, as indicated in said copending application.

Supported in the frame structure described is a crank shaft 25, from which the swords (not shown) are angularly oscillated to reciprocate the lay (not shown) and from which other mechanisms of the loom, such as the pick cam shafts 26 and 21 are operated. As a feature of the present invention, the crank shaft 25 is made of two crank end sections 28 and 29, and one, or more, intermediate straight shaft sections 30 coupled to said crank end sections. For simplicitys sake only one intermediate section 38 is shown. The right-hand crank end section 28 made of one piece comprises a double crank 3|, a short inner shaft part 32 on one side thereof, and a longer outer shaft part 33 on the other side. The double crank 3| is located between the two frame webs I8 and I9, and the shaft parts 32 and 33 extend through respective openings in said web in a manner to be described.

The short shaft part 32 is supported in bearing 34 secured to the frame web IS in a manner to be described. The bearing 34 is a non-split bearing unit. While the non-split bearing unit may be of the plain type, it is preferablymf the anti-friction type employing balls, rollers, etc. A non-split bearing unit may advantageously be used in the novel construction since such bearing unit may easily be slipped axially on or off the shaft part 32.

The longer outer shaft part 33 projects beyond the outer side of the frame l2, and is supported at its inner end in bearing 35, which like bearing 34 is a non-split bearing unit of the antifriction type, secured to the frame web l8 in a manner to be described. The bearing 35 is mounted as a unit on the shaft part 33, and can be axially slipped on or slipped off said shaft part. The shaft part 33 carries a gear 36 meshing with a gear 31 on the pick cam shaft 26, supported by non-split anti-friction bearing units 38 in the frame webs l8 and IS. The shaft part 33 also carries a pulley 40 mounted for rotation thereon, a clutch 4| for coupling the pulley 40 to the shaft part or disengaging it therefrom, and a hand wheel 43 for manual rotation of the crank shaft 25 when said pulley is disengaged from said shaft parts. The clutch 4| is shifted by a device 4! controlled manually or automatically or both, in any well-known manner.

At its outer end, the shaft part 33 is supported in a non-split anti-friction bearing 48 mounted, as will be described, as a unit on a frame piece 49 secured to the frame i2.

The left-hand crank shaft section 29 is also made of one piece, and comprises a double crank 50, a short inner shaft part on one side thereof, and a longer outer shaft part 52 on the other side. The double crank 50 is located between the two frame webs I5 and I6, and the shaft parts 5| and 52 extend through respective onenings in said webs in a manner to be described.

The short shaft part 5| is supported in a bearing 54, which like bearing 34 is a non-split bearing unit of the anti-friction type, secured to the frame web I5 in a manner to be described. The bearing 54 is mounted as a unit on the shaft part 5| and can be axially slipped on or slipped off said shaft part.

The longer shaft part 52 carries a gear 51 meshing with a gear 58 on the pick cam shaft 21 supported by non-split anti-friction bearing 4 units 60 in the frame webs l5 and I6. The shaft part 52 also carries a brake unit 6| operable for loom shut-downs in a manner well-known in the art.

The intermediate shaft section 30 which is of the floating type is straight, and is connected at its ends to the ends of the short shaft parts 32 and 5| by means of flexible c uplings 63 and 64. These couplings are desira ly of the type that provides maximum torsional rigidity while it allows a substantial axial misalignment of the coupled shafts. The couplings 63 and 64 will not be described in detail here as they are readily available articles of commerce. Each of the couplings consists of two flanged sleeves or hubs, each keyed to the end of one of the two shafts to be connected.-

To facilitate assembly, each of the frame webs l5, l6, l8 and H! has an aperture 65 opened at its upper end to afford free shaft ingress there- Secured to each of these frame webs across its aperture 65 by spot welding or the like is a bearing mounting plate 66 or 66a provided with a keyhole 61 for centering the bearing unit and locking it against transverse movement, and having its outer surface desirably machine finished to assure accuracy in the mounting of the bearing units. 'The keyhole '61 has a circular base 68 extending for more than 180, and is opened at the top by a restricted neck part 18 wide enough to permit the crank shaft parts 32, 33, 5| and .52 to pass freely therethrough. At its upper end 1|, the neck 10 of the keyhole 61 is flared to facilitate entry of the crankshaft parts thereinto.

Mounting plates 66 of similar sizes "and shapes are provided forithebearing'units 34, 35 and 54 respectively, and a mounting plate 66a is provided for the bearing unit 55, larger in size to accommodate -a frame 69 by' which the brake unit 6| is fixed to the loomside H, but otherwise similar to said bearing plates 66.

Each of thebe'aring units 34, 35, 54 and 55 has an end mounting flange 15 with an axial key extension 16 of reduced diameter conforming substantially with the diameter of the circular base 68 of the keyhole 61, so as to fit snugly therein.

For mounting the bearing units 34, 35, 54 and 55 on to the mounting plates 66 and 66a and to the frame webs l5, l6, l8 and 9, each of said plates has a series of bolt holes 11 registering with holes in saidframe webs and adapted to receive bolts 18 carried by the mounting flanges 15 of said bearing units.

The frame piece 49 for supporting the bearing unit 48 for the outer end of the crank shaft part 33 comprises a curved channel arm secured at one end to the lower end of the frame web l8, as for example, by bolting, and a. channel yoke 8| secured intermediate its ends to the other end of said arm. The yoke 8| extends horizontally around the crank shaft part 33 and the devices carried thereby, and is secured at its ends to the upper end 'of the frame web I3, as for example, by bolting.

For supporting the bearing unit 48 in the frame piece 49, said frame piece is formed at the intersection of the arm 80 and yoke 8| with a bearing mounting structure 83 defining a keyhole 84 similar to the keyhole 61 of the bearing mounting plates 66, and having a circular base 85 to receive snugly the circular housing 86 of the bearing unit 48 and a neck 81 wide enough and opened at its upper end to permit free in auoeessm gresssof 'theeouter end; of the cranlo shaft partbearingsa35 and'55 may be-axiallyslipp'ed on these crank shaft parts'as units, .wh'i-leasaid .devices areoff said crank shaft parts.

Iii -the assembling ot the loom parts described, the crank shaft section 28 with the devices 36, 40, 4| and 43 attachedinposition', and the bearing unitss34aand/351supportedthereon; but axially slipped away from each other-to clear-the bear-- ing mountingplates 66, isloweredirom the elevated position shown in" Fig: 5 to'cause'the shaft partsr323and 33 to pass intosthe respectiverkeyholes 61sof saidplatesandctomausethe outer end of'ithe-shaftpart. 33-to .pass :intocthe keyhole 84 ofiitheib'earing -mounting. structure 83. After the shaft parts 32.and 33.arenentered5in the circular b'ases B81 oathekeyholesfil linzthe bearing mounting plates 66 andJiGa,,the.bearing.units 34 and 35 are slid along their respective shaft parts into said circular keyhole bases,--and the bearing unit 48 "is'- slid into the-circularbase fl of the keyhole 84: in rthe end-bearingmcmntlngstructure 83.

Allnecessary bolting-or-fastening of the =d-iif'e'rent bearing units of the left loom side may then be effected.

The crank shaft section 29 with the devices 57 and BI attached in position thereon and the bear- 1 ing units 54 and 55 slid axially back, may be similarly lowered from an elevated position shown in Fig. 2. When the shaft section 29 has been properly centered with respect to the keyholes 61, said bearing units are then slid into their respective keyholes as indicated in Fig. 4, and all necessary bolting or fastening of the different bearing units of the right loom side may be effected.

The center shaft section 30 is then positioned between the crank shaft sections 28 and 29, and the couplings 83 and 54 bolted.

It is to be noted that by reason of the novel multipiece crank shaft arrangement, each loom side may be assembled independently of the other side in a simple and efficient manner. It is also to be noted that by reason of the flexible couplings employed it is not necessary to align all of the bearings of the shaft assembly; only those of each loom side need be aligned as the flexible couplings take care of misalignment between assemblies that may result in ordinary assembly when proper procedure and skilled workmen are employed.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto, but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a loom, a pair of loomsides having openings adjacent their upper ends, a frame piece connected to one of said loomsides on the outer side of said latter loomside. and defining an ad ditional opening substantially at the same level as said loomside openings said loomsides and said frame piece being cut away from their upper ends to permit shaft ingress into said openings, a crank shaft for operating the lay oscillating lfl 6. swords extending across said loomsides andin said openings. and bearings for:said-sh aft-;supported in-said loomsides and said frame piece and centered in said openingss 2. Ina loom; the combination asdescribed in claim 1, said -frame piece comprising an arm extending upwardly from said loomside, a yoke secured to the upper end of said'arm and extending substantially horizontally around the end of said shaft, and a-bearingrnounting structure at the intersection of-said yoke and said arm' defining said additional opening.

3. In a-loom, the combination as described in claim 1, said crank shaftbeing of sectionalized i constructionto permit the easy assembly and mounting thereof, each of said openings having a circularbaseof-more than 180 and a neck of K reduced width extending upwardly of said structure to-permit'shaft ingress therein, said bearings being of the'non-split unit type and adapted to he slid axially along the shaft parts of said crank shaft into respective openings for assembly; and being of a size to permit them to be received snuglyin respective openings.

4. Ina loom; a frame structure comprising spaced loomsides having-bearing receiving openings adjacent their upper ends, each ofsaid loomsides beingcutawayfrom its upper end to said.

openings to'provide passageways. for shaft and bearing ingressinto said openings, a crank shaft unit for operating the lay swords extending: in said openings crosswise of said loomsides and comprising two crank end sections and an intermediate straight section coupled thereto and bearings for said shaft supported on said loomsides and centered in said openings, said crank shaft unit being adapted to be assembled externally of said frame structure and moved into position in said openings through said passageways.

5. In a loom, a frame structure comprising spaced loomsides, each provided with a continuous upper portion and having bearing receiving openings in said continuous upper portion, each of said loomsides being cut away from its upper end to said bearing receiving openings to provide passageways for shaft and bearing ingress into said openings, a crank shaft unit for operating the lay swords of the loom extending in said openings crosswise of said loomsides and comprising two crank end sections and an intermediate straight section coupled thereto and bearings for said shaft supported on said loomsides and centered in said openings, said crank shaft unit being adapted to be inserted into and removed from said openings as a unit through said passageways.

6. In a loom, a frame structure comprising a pair of spaced loomsides each made up of a pair of upstanding spaced substantially parallel frame webs, each of said webs having a continuous upper portion extending to its upper end with holes therein to provide bearing receiving openings, each of said loomsides being cut away from the upper end thereof to said openings to provide passageways for shaft and bearing ingress into said openings, a crank shaft unit for operating the lay swords of the loom extending in said openings crosswise of said loomsides and comprising two crank end sections and an intermediate straight section coupled thereto and bearings for said shaft supported on said loomsides and centered in said openings, said crank shaft unit being adapted to be inserted into and 7 removed from said openings as a unit through said passageways.

7. In a loom, a frame structure comprising spaced loomsides, each provided with a continuous upper portion with a section of the continuous upper portion of each of said loomsides removed to provide an opening in communication with space above the upper end of its respective loomside, a bearing mounting structure having an open ended key opening therein secured to the portions of each of said loomsides defining said first openings, a crank shaft unit for operating the lay swords of the loom extending in said key openings crosswise of said loom, and comprising two crank end sections and an intermediate straight section coupled thereto and bearings for said shaft, said bearings being secured to said bearing mounting structures respectively, said crank shaft unit being adapted to be inserted into and removed from said key openings through the first mentioned openings in said loomsides.

8. In a loom, a frame structure comprising spaced loomsides, each provided with a con tinuous upper portion interrupted by a transverse hole in open communication with the space above its respective loomside, a bearing support structure attached to the sections of each of"'saicl loomsides defining its respective transverse hole, said bearing support structures having key openings therein, each with a circular base of more than 180 and a neck of reduced width extending to the upper end of said bearing support struc' ture to permit shaftingress'therein, a crank shaft for operating the lay swords extending in said openings crosswise of the loom, and having straight shaft parts small enough in diameter to permit said shaft parts to be lowered through said necks into said circular basespf said openings respectively, and bearings for said shafts adapted to be slid axially along said shaft parts into said openingsfor assembly and keyed into said openings against transverse removal.

FRANCIS GERARD LAKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,496,327 Simmchen June 3, 1924 1,678,434 Hindle July 24, 1928 1,911,981 Wiget May 30, 1933 2,288,651 Ruist July 7, 1942 2,414,174 Sepavich Jan. 14, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 48,090 Holland Feb. 17, 1940 367,083 Italy Jan. 16, 1939 506,173 France May 22, 1920 

